Chapter 8: Ancient Talismans (Part 1)

After firing the chaotic fireballs, Guo Shieru hid behind Luo Zhan. Screams of agony could be heard from the passage, and shadows of people struggling could be seen in the light coming from the entrance.
It took about five minutes before things calmed down. The five talisman warriors and four children looked at each other in confusion. Guo Shieru stared thoughtfully at the entrance. After a moment, he said, “Uncle Luo, let’s retreat to another cave. We can no longer hold this place. Gather the steel balls on the ground and sweep them together. Be careful… even if you can’t pick them up, don’t stay near the entrance.”
Everyone rushed about. Fortunately, with so many people, they quickly cleared the steel balls from the ground; even those that couldn’t be picked up were swept aside.
Luo Zhan asked, “Weren’t we doing well in defending earlier? Why do we need to retreat?”
Guo Shieru retorted, “What would you do if you no longer had a numerical advantage?”
Luo Zhan replied without hesitation, “Of course, send in stronger people… Uh, are you saying the next person to come in will be very strong?”
Guo Shieru sighed, “Almost certainly. That’s why we need to concentrate all our strength to deal with them. Although our chances of winning are slim, we still need to find the best position for ourselves.” With that, he headed toward the last bend in the passage.
The others followed closely behind. The passage was very narrow; even a slightly stocky person had to walk sideways to pass through. Beyond the narrow passage was a small space.
When Guo Shieru entered, he found it wasn’t completely dark—there was some light, which came from the cracks in the ceiling above, reflecting down. The ground was flat, with little terrain to exploit. Guo Shieru ordered everyone to scatter the steel balls and then hang fishing nets from the cracks above, connecting them with ropes so they could be pulled down at will. The nets were already torn from previous battles, but as long as they could still be used, they wouldn’t be discarded.
Guo Shieru touched the ground, feeling disappointed. If it had been muddy soil, he would have planned to dig a trap, but since it was rocky, they didn’t have the time or energy to dig.
“Leopard, we can’t help in the battle below. Let’s retreat to that corner first.”
Guo Shieru went there first. He said, “Now it depends on Uncle Luo and the others. If the enemy sends a master-level fighter, we won’t be able to stop them at all. Huh, it’s frustrating that this secret realm still isn’t closed. Let’s not distract Uncle Luo and the others.”

Five children, lined up in a row, crouched in a corner of the stone wall. Guo Shier was at the farthest end. According to him, he might still be able to cast a talisman to at least disrupt things, which was what made Huo Bao and the others quiet down. Hong Shi took out a talisman shield and placed it in front of Guo Shier.

Huo Bao whispered, “Shier, where did you learn all these strange tricks? Setting traps, throwing steel balls… How come I don’t know these weird methods?”

Guo Shier remained silent for a moment before saying, “Baozi, these are all unorthodox methods that can’t be shown off… What’s truly powerful is strength. You’ll see in a moment what kind of overwhelming strength can ignore all those messy tricks.”

Chen Bing said, “We can use talisman bows to support them. Why can’t we attack?”

Guo Shier sighed, “Using talisman bows to attack… Do you think it would work against a master like Grandpa Nanshan?”

Chen Bing gasped and asked, “Will it be a master who comes this time?”

Guo Shier sighed again, “I hope not. If it’s not a master, then Uncle Luo and the other five of them can handle it. But if it’s a master, even with us five children added, will it help?”

Chen Bing said disheartenedly, “Even fifty more children wouldn’t help.”

A master-level figure was almost an invincible expert. A master-level Talisman Martial Artist could withstand the attacks of many Talisman Martial Artists. In a direct fight, a Talisman Martial Artist and a master-level one were not even on the same level. So Luo Zhan and the others also felt heavy-hearted, not knowing what kind of opponent they would face.

According to Guo Shier’s plan, three people would draw the enemy’s attention head-on, while the other two would lie in ambush on either side, one of them also responsible for throwing fishing nets. Since only a little light penetrated into the cave, it was still very dark inside, and it would take some time to adjust and see everything clearly. Thus, they still had a visual advantage.

Guo Shier held a disposable talisman in his hand, waiting quietly.

Footsteps could be heard clearly—tap! tap!—in a rhythmic, unhurried pace. Guo Shier was secretly shocked. Only someone with great confidence would walk in so calmly, unhidden and fearless, clearly signaling to those inside that the visitor was a master-level expert.

An old man appeared at the cave entrance. With empty hands, he stood at the bend and said indifferently, “Surrender, or die? You can choose!”

Luo Zhan watched him calmly, saying nothing.

The old man took a step forward. At that exact moment, Guo Shier whistled and crushed the talisman in his hand, a blinding light flashing by. Luo Zhan and the others immediately closed their eyes as Guo Shier whistled. But the old man had no idea that the blinding light instantly blinded him.

His foot also stepped down at just that moment. Due to the dazzling light, his focus was disrupted, and his foot landed on the scattered steel balls. Even a master-level expert couldn’t control the slip of their feet—with a screeching sound, one foot slid uncontrollably forward while the other remained firmly planted. Crack! The old man ended up in a full split, a perfect front-to-back split. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from above, and a fishing net dropped down on him.

From the moment he took that step, he had fallen into a trap with this ambush. Guo Shier was overjoyed and shouted, “Hit him!”

The old man was stunned. Throughout his life, having fought countless battles, he had never encountered such a bizarre situation. Before the fight even began, he had to do a full split. With his old bones and legs, the pain was excruciating. As for what had fallen from above, he didn’t even have time to pay attention to it.

Luo Zhan also didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. He swung his talisman sword and slashed down fiercely. At this point, his only goal was to injure him; killing him seemed unlikely. Sure enough, as the sword struck, a layer of talismanic patterns suddenly appeared on the old man’s body, providing some resistance. The old man waved his arm to tear away the fishing net falling on him, his arm hitting the side of the talisman sword with a “thud.” Luo Zhan trembled violently, his talisman sword almost flying out of his hand. Unable to withstand such immense force, he kept retreating.

The old man roared in anger, pulling his legs back sharply as his body rose strangely. Yan Ge shouted loudly as a talisman staff smashed down fiercely. Xiao Feng held a talisman spear, its tip emitting silver light, and thrust it forward aggressively. The other two talisman warriors used rare sledgehammers to strike from above. The old man, with a furious expression, tilted his body slightly to avoid the spear tip and then slammed his hands upward.

With two loud bangs, Yan Ge screamed as he stumbled back several steps, and the other talisman warrior also lost control of his sledgehammer, which flew out of his hands. However, all that immense force was directed at the old man, who still hadn’t stabilized himself. With steel balls all around his feet, he slipped again, ending up in another full split, screaming in pain.

Luo Zhan swung his sword horizontally, aiming straight for the old man’s neck.

Guo Shier took the opportunity to shoot an ice arrow. He timed it perfectly, sending it straight into the old man’s chest. In an instant, the arrow shattered into powder as magical runes flashed. Three more ice arrows were fired, but the old man casually caught them with his hands, tossed them aside, and shattered Guo Shier’s attacks in the blink of an eye.
Everyone understood that if they couldn’t hurt him now, they were completely doomed.
Although the old man was lying face down on the ground, his presence was still formidable. Using his arms to block attacks and striking with fists and palms, he left the five Spell Warriors at a loss.
Guo Shier fired nine ice arrows, but none had any effect. He could only watch helplessly as the old man stood up and rushed at Yan Ge. Against such overwhelming strength, no schemes or tricks would work.
Yan Ge rolled on the ground, spitting blood repeatedly. His chest had been struck by a palm strike, leaving him unable to fight.
Luo Zhan desperately swung his sword, but the old man shattered it with a punch and kicked him in the left hip, causing him to fall to the ground with a cry.
The old man laughed loudly, “Even a mere dog dares to show off in front of me!”
In less than a minute, all five Spell Warriors were forced to retreat, spitting blood. Fortunately, the old man didn’t intend to kill them—he wanted to capture them and torture them slowly to vent his anger.
Luo Zhan staggered back to Guo Shier, holding his broken sword, and asked, “Shier, what do we do?”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly, “He’s too strong!”
The old man stood firmly on the ground. He kicked the ground lightly and sneered, “What cunning tactics—spreading steel balls on the ground! Well, surrender now!”
Guo Shier asked, “Who are you?” Then he stood up.
The old man was slightly surprised and asked, “Was it you who cast those spells just now?”
Guo Shier nodded. “I’m the only spellcaster here!”
The old man was even more astonished. “You? A spellcaster? How old are you?”
Guo Shier replied calmly, “Nine years old!”
The old man was speechless. He had witnessed several of Guo Shier’s spell attacks—whether it was the trap set at the cave entrance or the chaotic fireballs that killed over a dozen people. If these really came from this child, it was hard to believe.
He said, “I am Fu Ye Chen, an elder of the Fu Ye family. What’s your name?”
“Guo Shier!”
Fu Ye Chen said, “Surrender, and I won’t kill them!” A nine-year-old child was already so powerful—he really wanted to capture this slave.
Guo Shier said calmly, “Surrendering… isn’t completely impossible, but…”

Fuye Chen felt pleased and asked, “But what?” He could easily capture these people, but he was drawn to Guo Shier and wanted to find out more, so he wasn’t in a hurry to act—after all, these people couldn’t escape anyway. Guo Shier said, “If you can block one of my attacks, then I’ll surrender!”